What You'll Need: The Tools

In a pinch, all of these tools can be replaced with primitive alternatives, but it's best to use the proper materials, and I suggest that you get your hands on the following tools before something happens.

Digital Ounces Scale: This will allow you to know exactly how much of an ingredient you're using, and it's crucial for making high-quality gunpowder. You really don't want to just guess how much of an ingredient you're adding.

Two Glass Or Plastic Mixing Containers: Clean mixing containers are necessary. You need something to hold the ingredients, and you don't want your mixtures to get contaminated.

Plastic Spoon: This will be used to stir the mixture and transfer the ingredients during the process.

Blunt Object: You'll need a blunt object to crush the potassium nitrate into a usable powder. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. It just needs to be able to properly crush stuff.

Fine Mesh Sieve: The mixture will have clumps when you first mix all of your ingredients. A sieve made from a fine mesh will allow you to get rid of those clumps.

What You'll Need: Ingredients

I've already mentioned the actual ingredients in the section that covers the formula for gunpowder, but there are a few ways that you can get these ingredients naturally.

If you procrastinate, you might not have all of the ingredients when a survival situation starts.

Potassium Nitrate

You can buy this in most stores if you think ahead, but you can also make it in a fairly disgusting way.

I didn't say this was going to be a fun process.

During the times when settlers were exploring the United States, they would use urine and feces to naturally create their own potassium nitrate.

To do so, you just have to mix urine and feces.

Over time, a white crust will form on top of the disgusting mess.

That crust is potassium nitrate, and it'll get the job done in a real emergency.

If you've ever lived on a cattle farm, you've probably seen it a few times where the cows hang out.

However, I highly suggest that you just buy the stuff from a store while you can. It's more reliable, and it's a lot less messy.

Charcoal

Making charcoal is almost an initiation ritual for bushcrafters.

Preppers that focus on tactical tools and other modern things might not know how to make it, though.

All you have to do is burn a soft wood, and allow it to cool.

You'll get a much larger yield if you burn the wood in a sealed camp pot.

That prevents the fire from burning the wood into ashes, and almost all of your wood will be turned into charcoal.

That requires more wood because you still have to build a fire, to cook your soft wood with.

Sulfur

Sulfur can be purchased from nearly any gardening store.

However, it's a fairly common mineral in the wilderness.

It can be found in caves, rock formations, and other places.

Sulfur has a very distinct smell. So, you can typically smell it when you're near it.

Safety First

It's common knowledge that gunpowder isn't exactly safe.

Commercial gunpowder is often protected by graphite and other materials to keep it from accidentally igniting, but you won't have access to that stuff in a survival situation.

Homemade gunpowder can be extremely volatile, and even static electricity is enough to ignite it sometimes.

To prevent that from happening, you need to wear personal protection equipment.

You'll need:

Eye Protection: Goggles or safety glasses are necessary to keep you from damaging your eyes. Even small explosions can permanently blind you.

Gloves: You do not want gunpowder residue on your hands if accidentally ignite your batch of gunpowder. Wear thick gloves to put a barrier between you and any ignited gunpowder.

Dust Mask: This is just to keep you from inhaling gunpowder. You'll be crushing each ingredient into a fine powder. That powder can be inhaled very easily, and it's not good for your health. Some methods even produce toxic gas. So, it's important to wear a mask.

Ventilation: Don't work in your bedroom. You need to make gunpowder in a well-ventilated area. Some methods produce toxic fumes, and ventilation will keep you from entering an early grave.

Common-Sense: Don't do anything stupid. If you're a smoker, wait until you're finished with your project before lighting up a cigarette. Don't do anything that generates static electricity, either. In fact, just refrain from doing anything that produces heat or electricity. That's just common sense.

Proceed With Caution: I've warned you that this is dangerous at times. If you don't heed that warning, that's your own fault. If you're really wanting to make your own gunpowder, it's important that you do so while fully accepting the risks of doing so.

How To Make Gunpowder

Now, we can finally talk about actually making gunpowder.

I want everyone to be fully aware of the risks involved before you start trying to do any of this.

Modern manufacturing has reduced all of the risks, but you won't have that benefit when you make it yourself.

It is very possible that you'll start your own survival situation if you don't follow directions carefully.

Gather The Ingredients

Gathering the ingredients is obviously the first step.

If you're smart, you'll purchase everything at the store.

It's just easier.

Considering all of the ingredients are sold in bulk, it's also cheaper than you'd think.

If you're using this information long after a survival situation has started, and you didn't bother to buy anything, you can use the methods that I described earlier to acquire these ingredients.

Grind It

You want to grind the ingredients into a fine powder with a blunt object.

This is something that will take a little bit of time.

You don't want to generate static electricity because each component is dangerous on its own, and you need to grind each ingredient individually.

To grind it, just pour an ingredient into one of your containers, and smash it with a blunt object until it's a powder.

It may take a while, but that is how all spices were made hundreds of years ago.

I think you can handle it.

Mix It Up

Now, you need to mix the ground ingredients.

To do so, you need to pour each ingredient into one of your containers, and slowly stir the concoction until it's evenly blended.

Don't take any shortcuts during this phase.

You want the mixture to be blended well.

Get Rid Of The Chunks

This is technically the last step in the process.

All you have to do is pour your mixture into a fine mesh to sift out all of the chunks.

No matter how hard you try to crush everything, there will be chunks of potassium nitrate left over.

To sift the mixture, pour it into a fine mesh, and keep the mesh over a gathering container.

You might need to gently shake it to get all of the good gunpowder to fall through.

After you've done that, you can discard the chunks, and you're ready to go.

Let Sparks Fly

Sifting your gunpowder is technically the last step, but I highly recommend that you test a portion of your batch before you rely on it.